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'This would work in rugby, as well as other sports - it’s just a matter of designing the right transmitter and making it robust for the specific sport,' said Dr Ricketts.

'Low frequency magnetic fields don’t interact very strongly with the human body, so they are not affected by the players on the field or the stadium environment.

'This is part of what makes our new approach effective.'

Researchers at North Carolina State University and Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, have begun tests in American Football matches (aerial during trial, pictured)

Hi-tech tries: A low-frequency transmitter is placed inside the ball and antennas around the pitch receive signals from the transmitter and track its location (diagram pictured)

The research team, in collaboration with Disney, designed and built the lightweight transmitter and integrated it into an American football.

At present, there are no plans to use it for the National Football League, but Dr Ricketts said Disney’s ownership of sport broadcasters ESPN provided a possible avenue for their work to be used in the future.

He added: 'Our goal is to get the precision down to half the length of a football, which is the estimated margin of error for establishing the placement of the football using eyesight alone.'

The research team, in collaboration with Disney, designed and built the lightweight transmitter and antennas (pictured). At present, there are no plans to use it for the National Football League, but Dr Ricketts said Disney's ownership of sport broadcasters ESPN provided a possible avenue for their work to be used in the future

The ball could help establish when a try has been scored, even beneath a group of players. Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll scores a try during the RBS Six Nations Rugby Championship in Croke Park, Dublin